Former Newcastle United winger Florian Thauvin could leave Marseille for nothing this summer - with AC Milan waiting to sign him on a free transfer.
The man who played just a handful of games for Newcastle after a disastrous move from the Velodrome in 2015 made just three starts for the Magpies overall under Steve McClaren.
Thauvin was loaned back to Marseille twice before eventually making the return journey to the former European Cup winners for a fee of just £9.8million.
United paid around £12million for Thauvin and after he wooed fans back at Marseille his value soared to over £70million at one stage, however, with his contract expiring he may explore other options.
Milan supremo Paolo Maldini has been asked about the possibility of Thauvin signing at the San Siro, and told Telefoot: "If AC Milan is interested in Florian Thauvin it will be at the end of the contract so it is an interesting operation from an economic point of view.
"He is a high level player.
"He doesn't have the same profile as our players from the last two seasons, because of his age.
"But we know that the right formula for our team is to have a mix of young players and experienced players.
"He is obviously a player that we follow."
When asked about contract negotiations with Marseille and the links with Serie A, Thauvin, speaking to RMC Sport, said: "Nothing has yet been decided, recorded.
"We barely started discussions with the club. So for now, it's far too early to tell."
Thauvin has scored almost 50 goals for Marseille since being sold and recently stated he may not have any choice but to leave Marseille.
He has not only been linked with Bayer Leverkusen but at one stage was linked with PSG and Bayern Munich.
According to Transfermarkt, anybody who lands Thauvin will be getting a player worth £32million from a freebie this summer..
